The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-31
GEN. LEES CLEVER SON.
How He Carried the Office-Seekers
Through the Motions.


From the Netr York III ibune.
Rooney Lee, the son of Robert E. Lee,
who succeeds Senator-elect Barbour as a
member of the House of Representatives, is
a man who would attract attention in any
legislative body on account of his physical
bigness, if for no other reason. The dis
trict which he represents lies just across the
Potomac from Washington, and therefore
the journey to the national capital is an
easy one for his office-seeking constituents.
They can walk to town and ride home at his
expense. Gen. Lees predecessors in Con-
gress-Hunton and Barbour-were very
active and pretty successful in obtaining
Offices for their constituents, and when he
came in he found that rather large brigade
of minor officials, clerks, messengers, watch
men, ETC., was charged to his district. But
the pressure from without did not relax
The men and women who were Gin" wanted
to stay in. Poor Rooney" was between two
fires. His hotel was besieged by the ''outs"
and the "ins' alike. His appearance in the
House was the signal for an avalanche of
cards and notes from anxious and hungry
supplicants. He dared not appear in the
streets or in any othe.' public place. At
last Rooney was compelled to do some
thing to stop the continual DIGGING of his
footsteps by day and interruption of his
slumbers by night. He hit upon a happy
expedient. He caused it to be made known
that he would receive persons who were
seeking places or who desired to retain the
places they already held, only at a certain
time and place. The place was the rotunda
of the capitol, and the hour was fixed early
enough to avoid crowds of statesmen and
strangers thronging there before midday.
The first 'leveen held by the new Vir-
ginia Congressman was thus described:
"Gen. Lee took his place in front of the
model of Bartholdis statue of Liberty
Enlightening the World, and between the
historical paintings representing the sur
render of CORVALLIS and Burgoyne, respect
lively. Nearly half of the floor space of the
big rotunda was filled with men and
women-chiefs of division, clerks, watch
men, messengers scrub-women, and men
and women who want to be chiefs, clerks,
messengers, scrub-women and watchmen.
1t was big crowd. When the General
opened his mouth to speak he had most
attentive audience He eemed to be slightly
embarrassed at first in the presence of so
much worth and beauty, and hunger, but
he soon rallied. and ordered the people TO
form two lines-the front line to
be composed of the ms and the
rear line of the outs Then he issued
this command: Treasury Department
will form on the right, Interior Depart
ment on the left, State, War and Navy in
the centre After some delay the evolu-
tions were performed t. his satisfaction.
and from the lips of the General issued this
command: Attention. Battalion State,
War ana Navy! advance twenty PAGES to
the 'front.' Both lines advanced PROMPTLY,
and underwent thorough inspection. Then
they fell back, and the next command was:
Attention. Battalion! Treasury Depart
mentl Right-wheel. Advance ten PAGES.
After the Treasury Department came the
Interior Department., and the manoeuvres
for the day ended with the evolutions of
some smaller squads from the Department
of Justice, the Department of Agriculture
and the District of Columbia Offices"
Everybody will admire the sagacity of
this great Congressional strategist, whose
tactics will probably be carefully studied and
adopted by some of his party associates in
the House.